Enviro News Asia, Jakarta – Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) and Daily Chairperson of the National Energy Council (DEN), Bahlil Lahadalia, presided over the Second and Third Member Sessions of DEN for 2025.
In his opening remarks, Bahlil encouraged DEN members to learn from Brazil in utilizing new and renewable energy (NRE) as part of the energy transition effort.
“They use sugarcane waste for fuel. Because their agriculture is strong, their ethanol production is excellent, and they are a leader in biodiesel. So perhaps in Merauke, we need to push for sugarcane to be converted into ethanol and methanol,” said Bahlil in Jakarta on Friday (July 18), as conveyed in the official press release.
Key topics discussed during the session included the current status of the Draft Government Regulation on the National Energy Policy (RPP KEN), the alignment of downstream industrialization programs with KEN, and the synchronization of regional energy planning or cross-sectoral energy policies.
It was stated that the Government Regulation on KEN is still awaiting enactment. The draft policy (RPP KEN) is expected to align with downstream programs and support the energy transition toward Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060.
This includes optimizing the use of New and Renewable Energy (NRE) to ensure energy security and independence.
Additionally, the draft policy highlights the need for funding in energy sector decarbonization and energy resilience through the State Budget (APBN), Regional Budgets (APBD), and other sources—both domestic and international.
Once enacted, the Government Regulation on KEN will serve as the foundation for regions to develop regional energy planning and cross-sector energy policies.
Therefore, DEN must provide technical guidance and assistance in drafting Regional Regulations on Regional General Energy Plans (RUED) and cross-sector energy policies for all 38 provinces, especially for the provinces of Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and Highland Papua.
Another issue discussed during the 2nd and 3rd Member Sessions of DEN was the proposed amendment to Presidential Decree No. 17/P of 2009 regarding Government Representatives in DEN, following the change in nomenclature from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
Also discussed was the 2024 Energy Independence Index, which assesses the aspects, indicators, and weights of national energy independence. To improve energy self-sufficiency, DEN recommended increasing the Reserve Replacement Ratio (RRR) through the exploration of resources, potential and/or proven energy reserves, increasing oil, gas, and LPG supplies, and substituting them through the optimization of domestic energy sources.
The DEN Member Session was attended by Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman, permanent government representatives of DEN from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and Ministry of Industry. (*)
